The Head of National Guard added that he will answer the questions of the politician in a format that he will choose.

Head of the Russian National Guard Viktor Zolotov refused to participate in debates with opposition leader Alexey Navalny, TASS reports. Earlier, Zolotov challenged Navalny to a duel after the oppositionist accused him of corruption.

"Debate? It is not what I offered,” said Zolotov noting that he invited Navalny to take part in a sports match. “I am accused of inviting him in order to beat him after he declared me a corrupt official and all that. But the fact is that the court is working, and after the court decision, we will see who is right and who is not. And after that, we’ll return to this question,” said Zolotov.

Alexey Navalny invited Zolotov to take part in a debate the day before, October 18. The politician proposed to hold debates on the air of a federal television channel or on YouTube. Navalny also reminded his viewers about the real estate belonging to the Zolotov family with a total value of 3.5 billion rubles. According to the politician, the general could not buy such property with a salary of a civil servant.

The Russian Guard called Navalny’s address “self-promotion” and considered the behavior of the politician disrespectful, as he published the video on the day of mourning for those who died during the Kerch Polytechnic College shooting.

In early September, Viktor Zolotov made an address to Navalny after the oppositionist published an investigation performed by the Anti-Corruption Foundation about the procurement of products for National Guard at inflated prices. Zolotov promised to make a “juicy steak” out of Navalny and challenged him to a duel “to the ring, to the tatami, anywhere.”